For purposes of this report, matters for continued monitoring are medium-risk areas with ineffective internal controls with minor or no mitigating controls in place, posing medium risk to the Corporation. These areas warrant continued monitoring of corrective actions through completion.

The Pre-Exit Clearance Process was a matter for continued monitoring in the 2001 Chief Financial Officers Act (CFOA) Report. During 2002, an internal control review of the Pre-Exit Clearance Process revealed that existing controls were adequate and that access to the FDIC's systems and facilities had not been compromised by employees or contractors leaving the Corporation. As a result, this area has been removed from the continued monitoring list for the 2002 Annual Report.

The Corporation's evaluation and assessment process identified three matters that warrant continued monitoring. These matters were also included in the 2001 CFOA Report.

1. Contractor Oversight
In 2002, the FDIC continued to emphasize strong internal controls over contract oversight/project management. A number of major new systems and a significant construction project are under development and pose risk to the Corporation if not efficiently and effectively managed. Thus, it is imperative that the basic contract oversight elements of time, cost and project completion be effectively monitored and managed.

Major systems initiatives within the FDIC include the New Financial Environment (NFE), the Assessment Information Management System II (AIMS II), the Corporate Human Resources Information System (CHRIS), FDICconnect, FDIC XP, and Virtual Supervisory Information on the Net (ViSION). The construction project involves the building of Phase II of the Seidman Center.

NFE will provide an integrated financial system that focuses on data-sharing, state-of-the-art computing technology, and the ability to grow and change with the Corporation's future financial management and information needs. The contract is a firm fixed-price contract, and payment is based on the approval of predetermined deliverables, not on a percentage of time spent on the project. The FDIC has appointed a risk manager who is responsible for conducting an independent third-party review of NFE risks, including monitoring project cost and time, and reporting to the Chief Financial Officer and Division of Finance Director on risk-evaluation results.

AIMS II is the platform that will provide the FDIC with a flexible, robust tool to efficiently track deposit insurance assessments levied since the creation of the BIF and the SAIF in 1989, as well as any changes that pending deposit insurance reform legislation might require, including possible credits or refund calculations.

CHRIS is an integrated human resources processing and information system that will bring together the functions and data now residing in multiple stand-alone systems; it is being implemented incrementally through four versions over a four-year period.

FDICconnect is a secure, electronic, Web-enabled environment providing the FDIC with the capability to electronically exchange information with insured financial institutions. In 2003, the FDIC will make FDICconnect available to all institutions and develop several additional electronic data exchanges, including premium assessments, delivery of Financial Institution Letters, application submission and tracking information on deposit insurance.

FDIC XP is the new corporate computer software package that will provide a more stable and secure environment in which to work.

ViSION is an Internet-based data system that provides the FDIC and staff of the other federal banking agencies and state authorities access to supervisory information about financial institutions.

Phase II Construction of the Seidman Center is a project to construct a two-tower office building and multi-purpose facility at the FDIC's existing Virginia Square campus. The buildings will accommodate staff presently housed at four leased locations.

2. Risk Designation Levels/Background Investigations
The FDIC adopted the risk designation system established by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to provide corporate officials with a systematic, consistent and uniform way of determining risk levels of positions. The risk designation system requires FDIC officials to designate risk levels for every position in the FDIC in order to determine the type of background investigations required. In 2002, all divisions and offices were reminded to ensure that position risk designations are appropriately revised whenever the risk of a position changes. Also, the FDIC began developing a policy and procedures regarding risk designation levels and background investigations for contractors and subcontractors.

3. Business Continuity Plan
The FDIC Business Continuity Plan was developed to sustain time-sensitive operations that support mission-critical functions in the event of a disruption. While disruptions are unavoidable in some circumstances, continuity planning helps minimize negative impacts and allows the FDIC to continue meeting mission-critical requirements. In developing this plan, the FDIC considered mission goals that are central to the Corporation's operations and determined key business functions that support them.

The FDIC finalized plans for its headquarters and regional offices. In 2002, a series of tabletop exercises were conducted to test the Corporation's ability to respond to an emergency and continue critical business operations.

Internal Controls and Risk Management Program

FDIC Circular 4010.3, "FDIC Internal Control Programs and Systems," outlines steps necessary to remain in compliance with provisions of the CFOA by establishing FDIC internal control objectives, describing internal control standards, and identifying and monitoring risk management internal control programs and systems. The process focuses on areas of high risk to provide reasonable assurance that the following objectives are met:

Programs are efficiently and effectively carried out in accordance with applicable laws and management policies;

Assets are safeguarded against waste, loss, unauthorized use or misappropriation;

Systems are established to alert management of potential weaknesses;

Obligations and costs comply with applicable laws; and

Revenues and expenditures applicable to the FDIC's operations are recorded and properly accounted for, so that accounts and reliable financial and statistical reports may be prepared and accountability of assets may be maintained.

Division and office directors are required to submit a certification statement addressed to the Chairman asserting that their internal control systems: (1) comply with the FDIC internal control standards and (2) provide reasonable assurance that the FDIC internal control objectives are achieved. The certification statement also reports whether material weaknesses, high vulnerability areas, or matters for continued monitoring exist in the internal control systems and, if so, provides a description of the deficiency and planned corrective action(s). These certification statements are used as support for the Corporation's Statements on Internal Accounting and Administrative Controls.